


In Over My Head

by melancholicInspiration



Category: Uncharted (Video Games), Uncharted 2 - Fandom
Genre: F/M, M/M, Mostly Canon Compliant, longfic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-02-21
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-02-27 22:53:29
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,266
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22823614
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/melancholicInspiration/pseuds/melancholicInspiration
Summary: What is working with Zoran Lazarevic really like? A look at Harry's experiences during those moments not shown in game.
Relationships: A bit of Harry/Chloe, Harry Flynn/Nathan Drake, Nathan Drake/Chloe Frazer, mainly one-sided - Relationship
Comments: 12
Kudos: 19





	1. That First Meeting

**Author's Note:**

> This is mostly based off of my personal headcanons and ideas.

Lazarević hears about the Turkish exhibit on Marco Polo months before the planned heist. He is not a man that is well-suited to jobs that require finesse and stealth, nor is anyone in his paid for army. It didn’t take a genius to know most of his problems were solved by both money and brute strength, but heists involved more than that. It involved planning, and people who knew how to get in and out of even the most heavily guarded of places. 

The Serbian knew the history of the Turks, and some of his men had dealt with Turkish security before. In those situations, delicacy was not on either side’s mind, only the will to actually survive the encounter. Lazarević’s intel told him that a lead on the trail of Marco Polo’s diversion to Sham’bha’la was in the Turkish Museum. Such attitudes would not help him here. 

That was how he heard the name Harry Flynn. Not the best thief in the business, but it would do. The jade oil lamp wasn’t an item that attracted a lot of attention - after all, the more eyes on an object, the harder it would be to steal. 

A decision was made, make contact with Flynn. Tell him he could have a couple people with him, people he chose, only to lift the lamp. After that, well that would depend on how well the heist would go. 

So Lazarević was here, in the rainy streets of London, waiting to meet this thief. Not liking to be kept waiting, or to do this alone, Lazarević waited for him deep in an alleyway. This part of London was full of factories that had long since closed for the night, which was ideal for this kind of a meeting. There were cars scattered around the various side streets, but aside from the rain it was quiet. Dark aside from the nearby streetlights at the ends of the alleyway, the nearby garages had their own lights that were flickering ominously as if they had clued into the atmosphere of the situation. 

Being a thief wasn’t exactly a lucrative career path, even for someone as skilled as Harry Flynn. Most of the contracts he did for clients was from word of mouth, and a meetup would be scheduled. It wasn’t unusual to meet in sketchy places, so when a man named Lazarević makes contact and demands for his services, and to meet up later that week, his interest is piqued. It’s nearly midnight by the time he gets there, and there is a distance rolling of thunder closer towards the city proper. A native Englishman, it wouldn’t be the first time that Harry has been caught in the rain.

Through the end of the alley he started walking towards after hopping off of his bike, he could see two men standing there. Dressed all in black, and both with their arms crossed in front of him. The metallic glint of their pistols couldn’t be missed. Harry couldn’t tell which one of them was his client, though there was the likely possibility that he was neither one of them. 

_Why bother with armed escort?_ Surely, this Lazarević wasn’t a celebrity enough to warrant this level of protection?

A show of strength was equally likely. It wasn't unusual among the criminal underground for higher ups to be armed themselves, and to bring along a few other men for 'backup'. Still, Harry approached the guards confidently, subtly looking around trying to find his client. They noticed, but if it amused or annoyed them it didn't show. 

"You must be Flynn." A rough accented voice finally said to him, catching his attention. It was a voice that didn't need raising, as hearing it would ensure that whomever heard it would give the man due respect. Harry was a cocky bastard, sure, but he wouldn't shoot himself in the metaphorical foot by being a smart-arse. 

"The one and only, mate." Though he did give the man a smirk as he finally appeared beyond the two brutish guards. He was wearing a black toque on his head, but even with the distance and the disguise, Harry could see a nasty scar taking over a sizable portion of his face. That certainly held a gruesome story, not one that Harry was likely to find out anytime soon. 

Zoran wasn't exactly thrilled by this attitude, but if Harry was as good as he said, perhaps it was worth it. "I am in need of your services, Flynn." One of the guards moved forward towards Harry, producing a previously unseen manila folder. That got a raised brow from the thief as he took the folder from the guard, turning on a flashlight to look over the information. 

Among the items in the folder was an excerpt of Latin text, a brochure for an upcoming exhibit at a Turkish museum and a picture of a small jade oil lamp. Harry had heard of it before, but had been assured it was just a useless relic. What use did his client have for such an item? 

"Marco Polo's lamp." Harry said with an interested tone, not taking long to put two and two together. After all, the exhibit was one for the ancient explorer, and didn't take a genius to put two and two together. "What use do you have for this?" 

Lazarević openly scowled at the prying question, evidently he wasn't willing to share that particular piece of information. "If you are going to ask idiotic questions, Flynn, I will take my money and find someone else." That mixed with the steely cold look in his eyes was enough to shut Harry up and he held up a hand in surrender. This Lazarević was a testy man, that was for sure. 

Seeing that the Brit had learned his lesson, Lazarević seemed content with continuing, laying out his terms for the heist. Provided the object was delivered safely to him, he could have a couple trusted people to help him carry out the heist. That, and upon seeing what he was willing to pay, which was written down on a paper wet with rain and given to him by the same guard that gave him the folder made Harry's eyes widen with obvious interest. 

"It's a deal, then." Harry said, and Lazarević nodded, the only emotion showing was a sense of smug contentment that he had agreed. That meant that he wouldn't have to continue his search for a decent thief. Harry gave back the folder but the guard held up his hand to stop him. "Keep the folder." The guard told him, with a coarse tone that pretty firmly said not to bother fighting on this, so he just nodded. 

"You will contact me once you have collected the lamp, Flynn." Lazarević ordered, before leaving with both of his guards. After a few minutes, Harry lit a cigarette and headed back to his bike, mind buzzing with ideas about the upcoming heist.


	2. Getting the team together

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloe is the first person that Harry calls to join him on the heist, they talk about some of the details of it over takeaway and drinks.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Drake will make his appearance in the next chapter, for now it's just Harry and Chloe. Porn, with some plot, ahead. Apologies for the delay in updating.

Harry walked away feeling that the man he met last night was definitely dangerous, and either must be insane to want an essentially worthless trinket, or knew something he didn’t. The fact that he approached him months before the exhibit was set to open, as it was close to the start of summer, gave the impression of a very intelligent man. Maybe it really was true, that intelligent men were more often than not, completely batshit.

As for the team he planned to bring together, he could think of two particular people. One was Nathan Drake, an old colleague of his and probably a better thief than he was. He would need to track him down however, the man was all over the place and Harry wasn’t particularly keen on going through Sullivan.

The first person he called was his recent girlfriend, Chloe Frazer. Hopefully she picked up the phone, as he listened anxiously to the dial tone. It almost missed her entirely and Harry felt himself let out a brief relieved sound. It was her who spoke first though. 

“Hey, Harry. What’s new?” 

“Got a job for us, love. How do ya feel about Turkey?” 

A brief laugh from Chloe’s end at the slight joke, but she was also excited about the job. Yet, it was clear there was more to it than just a romantic getaway. “What’s in Turkey?” 

“Exhibit on Marco Polo, in a couple months. Client wants us to lift something from there and return it to him.” Talking to Chloe always relaxed him, but he was aware that Chloe might be the best getaway driver he’d ever worked with, but she wasn’t a thief. 

“Harry, we’ll need another man, at least.” If the museum was the one she was thinking of, they would need someone with considerable skill. Chloe loved Harry but he was a while off from being a master thief. “I think I know a guy.” 

“So, you’re in?”

“Course I am, Harry.” 

That was the end of the call, though Harry later texted her to decide on a date to meet up. Usually when they called each other about a potential job, they would agree to it and then visit in person to share the concrete information they had. By the time Harry had opened the door to let Chloe into the flat, it had been almost two weeks since the initial meeting with Lazarević . 

With meetings like this, they would get takeout and talk about the upcoming job over a few drinks. Such was the case here, as when Harry let Chloe in, there was the aroma of take-away Chinese spread out over an elegant black coffee table in Harry’s living room. It was a homely little one bedroom apartment, but Harry spends most of his time here. The table provided excellent space for meetings. It had two tiers running the length and width of the table, with the Chinese food on the top, complete with two beers for each of them. The crucial information, and Harry’s laptop were resting on the bottom. 

Chloe laughed softly, impressed by the spread of food. Evidently, Harry was excited to get started on this. Did he get paid up front? Sometimes there would be a small payment up front and then the rest would come on delivery. “You went all out here, Harry. Must be something good.” 

Harry chuckled at that and nodded, leading her over to the couch, and Chloe could see a hint of his shoulder blades tensing under his black t-shirt, but it could have just been a trick of the light. When he sat down on the sofa, and Chloe followed his lead, and the grin he gave her was reassuring. “Food first or do you want to get into all the dirty details?” 

The Brit moved to grab his beer off the coffee table and sat down on the couch after taking a sip, briefly looking at Chloe with a slight grin. _She's so beautiful like this_ , he thinks to himself before having another sip and putting it back on the coaster, Chloe now settling beside him on the couch. "Had a meeting with someone couple weeks ago, offering to pay us a lot to lift something out of a Turkish museum." He told her as he bent over slightly to pick up the manila folder on top of his computer and hands it to her.   
  
"Who's the client?" It's a usual question that gets asked on the job, but somehow Harry feels a bit nervous about answering right now. It's a nervousness that Chloe picks up on and she looks at him carefully. "Harry--" 

"It's not important, luv. He's paying enough that it's worth it, promise." Harry smiles in a reassuring fashion, tapping the folder that was open on her lap. There was a bit of residual nerves, that happened after he looked into the various rumours about who their client really was. No doubt, when he told Chloe, she would do the same. 

Chloe just pursed her lips at him and hummed to herself, looking over the various documents. This was bound to be an exciting job, and with that enormous payday, perhaps it wasn't awful to leave it alone. For now. Harry did seem nervous - a tension that she was just beginning to pick up on and she smirked. _Harry was in need of some tension relief._ Her hands moved to his shoulders, noting the tension there, and gently started rubbing them. Harry seemed taken off guard by that action and Chloe just smiled softly. "We can talk about it later."

Harry has always loved these moments with Chloe, where the excitement and the alcohol seems to take control of them both. One chaste kiss leads to other, deeper ones; where their hands grope at each other, feeling patches of familiar skin and moaning in excitement and arousal.

Harry's hands find their way under Chloe's shirt, expertly heading towards that clasp in the middle of her back. Chloe laughs softly at how forward he is, and he breaks the kiss to scoff at her. "Wound up aren't ya, Harry?" Chloe teases him, though he opts to respond by bending to suck a hickey into her collarbone. Moaning at the action, her arms wrap around him to pull him in closer.

The clasp came undone rather quickly, and Harry mentally thanked his deft fingers.

Chloe's own skilled hands travel south briefly to grope him through his trousers, though she mentally sighs when his jeans make that a bit harder than it needed to be. She can tell he's aroused, but to touch it, she'll need to undo his trousers.

Harry grins as he shifts positions to lay heated kisses to her neck, and distracted feminine hands move to guide his shirt up to his shoulder. Unfortunately, he had to move away to toss the shirt behind him, hitting a lamp before falling lifelessly to the ground. The same action was repeated with Chloe's own shirt, revealing a bright crimson bra hanging forward off her shoulders, and that sight alone had Harry pausing to take in the sight.

It was only a moment before he put an arm around her waist and pushed her down onto the couch, so he was settled in between her legs. Harry couldn't resist kissing her again, a couple times on her lips, as he went to slide her bra straps down her arms and dropping it by the floor of the couch. Once done with that, his hands continued to undress her, kissing now moving from her lips, to her neck and shoulders. 

As much as Chloe enjoyed seeing Harry in such a dominant mood, she wasn't about to deny herself the pleasure of moving forward so she could grab two fistfuls of Harry's ass and grope him, smirking at the sound that escaped him. "My turn.~" She said with that confident air that Harry loved, as she moved up to pull him into a kiss, before forcing him onto his back on the couch. The kiss deepened with the roles reversed, and Harry's hands drifted down to undo her own trousers, and she couldn't help but grind against just the hint of his hands touching her there. 

When Harry broke away from the kiss, he was grinning softly, enjoying how debauched he felt under Chloe. He moved to pull his wallet out of his pants, and pulled a condom out of it, holding it up with a grin. Even with how good they both felt right now, it was never a bad idea to be a little bit careful. 

The condom was snatched up as Chloe stood up and stretched a little bit, allowing Harry to ogle her as she pushed her trousers down her legs. Harry did the same, albeit in a less seductive manner, though she did whistle appreciatively at the size of his erect cock. Deciding to tease him a bit, she climbed back between his legs, and unwrapped the condom, and smirking up at him when she saw him holding his breath at the sight of her between his pale legs like that. Once the condom was unwrapped, Chloe put it in her mouth, before placing both over Harry's cock, the condom sliding on as her mouth went down on him. 

_"C-chloe....ahhh.."_ Harry couldn't help but gasp, and feels his heart skipping a few times at the unrestricted feeling of pleasure as she did that. A hand came up to rest at the back of her head, tangling in dark brown as he fought to keep himself from bucking fully into her mouth. 

Chloe kept going down and sucking the entire way, loving the way he squirmed from just this. Of course, she didn't have to keep sucking as she made sure it was all the way down with her hand at the base of his cock, it was just worth it to see the way Harry's expression changed from confusion to utter arousal. When she moved away, she could see the beginnings of a disappointed pout starting to form on Harry's lips and she chuckled. "You're so cute when you pout, Harry dear."   
  
"I'm not pouting!" Harry couldn't help but instinctively respond, making the pout even more prominent. That only lasted for mere moments, before Chloe moved to straddle him, one hand gripping the arm rest above him, and then starting to move down over his cock, to which he shuddered and moaned, hands immediately going to her hips. Even with a condom on, Chloe felt indescribable. 

Chloe also moaned at the feeling of Harry inside her, the feeling was sending shivers of that warm, throbbing pleasure running through her as she began to ride him. Slowly, at first, but faster as she was spurned on by the both of their wordless moans. Under her, she can feel Harry moving in tandem, nearly matching her rhythm of riding his cock. _"Mmm, Harry.~"_ She gasped as that spot was hit and she tilted her head back as she continued to ride him, desperate to continue hitting that spot. 

As she did, Harry's hands now rested upon her beautiful ass, groping it and moving Chloe against him even further, and his moans echo hers. The sight of her, with her long hair out of its ponytail, and the way Harry can watch her as she moves, is deepening his own arousal. "Damn, how'd you get this hot...." He asks rhetorically with a wry laugh, a hand going up to toy with one of her breasts. 

It was a question he had asked her a couple times before, usually in the midst of sex, and Chloe takes it for the compliment it is, but keeps riding him. Her breath is coming in heavy pants, and from the growing heat inside her, she can tell her orgasm is too close to get distracted now. After a few minutes of frantic riding, and both of them moaning louder and louder, the ecstasy hit Chloe first and she moved down hard on Harry's cock, beginning to shiver as she gripped the back of the couch to steady herself as it ran its course. 

Harry followed soon after, the tremors of her orgasm, leading him to reach his own. His hips rocked upwards violently during the course of it, and he moans Chloe's name, the sound of which is still ringing in his ears moments later. When Harry opened his eyes again, he couldn't help a soft groan of sated appetite, especially as he noticed that Chloe had climbed off him. and was now lying on his shoulder, staring at him with the same dazed smile. 

A small laugh escaped him as he gestures for her to move for a couple seconds, and he takes off and disposes of the condom, before they both curl up on the couch to doze off for a couple hours. Chloe curled up on his chest, and Harry's arm around her, a somewhat unusual picture of bliss.


	3. Thieves Don't Get Holidays

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> An in depth convo about the job, fun times with Nathan Drake. Basically meeting up with canon events here.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry and Chloe got a bit *distracted* with their fun last chapter, so we'll be doing this here! 
> 
> I obviously do not own any of the small bits of canon scenes/dialogue/setting. I'm just tying it in here and in future chapters.

“So, about the job, Harry.” Chloe started by asking him the next morning. She was still beautifully naked, idly stirring the cream into a black coffee mug. They had both slept on the couch, only waking up briefly to get a blanket, and neither remembered who actually did it. 

Harry had only woken up a few minutes before, and he was usually a heavy sleeper, but the whirring of the instant coffee machine caused him to stir. Then the pleasant aroma of rich dark coffee that had him humming. Chloe still being around was definitely a welcoming thing to wake up to, and he yawned softly, moving to sit up and rub the sleep out of his eyes. _It was too early for this, wasn’t it, Chloe?_

He groaned softly as he sat up and fumbled around for a second, eventually lighting a cigarette and sitting up properly. Waking up always took him a bit, and he personally didn’t consider himself awake until he had his first cigarette or cup of coffee - he wasn’t terribly addicted to tobacco, but it was a pleasure that was growing on him. 

Chloe just watched him wake up with a quaint smile. It was about 11am, with the sun shining through the window behind the couch, but Harry was still so groggy. Right now, he didn’t look like a master thief, he just looked….soft. It was this part of him that Chloe wasn’t ashamed of loving. She made her way over to the chair by the couch first, before backtracking to the kitchen to get Harry a coffee. As adorable as he was, still attempting to wake up, they really did have to talk. 

When the coffee mug appeared in front of his face a few minutes later, he smiled at the scent of it and nodded his thanks to Chloe as he took it. The rich taste and the caffeine got him to wake up, and just in time to watch Chloe bend over to put her shirt back on and made her way back to the chair. He briefly watched before he remembered what she asked only a few minutes prior. "The job...what about it, luv?" Said after yawning and rubbing a hand over his sleepy face. Another drag of his cigarette and he put it out on a nearby ashtray. 

"Just the one thing, who's the client?"

 _Why did that question make his stomach flip over?_ Harry tried his best to downplay it. "Guy named Lazarević." Even if he forgot the man's name, he would never forget that face. There was a moment where that name hung in the air, the only sounds being the two drinking their coffee idly. Harry could feel Chloe staring at him, and when he met her dark eyes, he saw concern there. 

"Zoran Lazarević?? The guy involved in all those civil wars?" Chloe's voice was almost muted, as if she could hardly grasp the severity of Lazarević seeking out Harry for this job. She wasn't just a get away driver, she knew the kind of stories surrounding that man and none of them were pretty. "What could he want with the lamp?"

Harry didn't know how to reassure those unspoken concerns she had, and just shrugged and nudged at one of the Chinese take-out boxes still on the table. "Maybe he just has a thing for lamps, Chloe. It's not like he's hiring us for more than just the lift and delivery." 

Chloe pursed her lips sensing how evasive Harry was getting, it was a bit unusual for him to be so skittish. It was likely that he wasn't told if Lazarević had other plans, and from the rumours she heard, people normally didn't make it far after back-talking to a man like that. She did however, move over to sit beside Harry on the couch, gently massaging the tension out of his shoulders. "Just promise me you'll be careful, won't you, Harry?"

Harry smiles at her softly, the concern was a welcome gift and he kisses her softly. Brushes a couple stray strands of dark hair from her forehead and tucks it behind one of her ears. It comes loose a second later, but that didn't bother him any. In fact, it was a little endearing. "Of course, luv, and in case things get dicey, I know just who to call."

* * *

They both eventually locate Drake on a resort in Hawaii, and the wonderful warmth makes Harry sigh in relief as they exited the airport. It was a good couple hours that Chloe and himself were stuck in that plane from England. Idly, he wonders if she contacted Drake beforehand, but there was a certain allure to dropping in on him unexpectedly. If he didn't want to join them on to join them on the heist, then he could always relax with Chloe on the resort for a couple days.

The resort was a couple hours out from the airport, made a bit less than due to Chloe's driving skills. Luckily, by the time they dropped their bags off at their rooms and wandered around the resort, they finally found Nathan drinking alone by the outdoor bar. At the sight of him, Harry paused a bit, admiring the way he looked when he was relaxed like that. A brief look around, warm sandy beaches, the calming din of waves crashing against the shore. If there was a place in the world to relax, Drake picked a damn good place. 

His eyes found Nathan again and a smile appeared on his face, just the sight reminding him of how he always felt about the man. Motioning a bit to Chloe, he approached Nathan as if pulled in by sheer magnetism. Once he was close enough, he flashed him a charming smile. "Buy me a drink, sailor?" 

Drake's mind was far off, nursing his beer as he thought about that last adventure. All that chaos that he had barely survived from, but luckily Sullivan and him had got enough treasure that he could pay for this vacation and then some. And Elena...Elena was a hell of a girl. Then a familiar accent came from right next to him and he nearly jumped out of his seat. "Harry Flynn! The hell you doin' here?" Said while embracing him tightly and the smile he had on was from ear-to-ear, a smile that Harry found infectious. 

_Drake was always so handsome when he smiled._

"Looking for you, mate." The manilla folder had been replaced by a sleek black one, and it was resting under Harry's arm as they broke from the hug. It made sense, the previous folder would have the important documents all creased and crumpled, especially on the plane ride over here. 

"Uh-oh, should I be flattered or worried?" Drake can't help but smile. Harry was an old friend, and seeing him brought back fond memories. Why wouldn't he be a little glad to see him, and if he had a job to go on, that was even better. 

"Maybe a bit of both." God knew Harry was leaning a little towards the worried side, as he grabbed an unopened beer bottle that had been resting beside Nathan and moved past him in a fluid way towards an unoccupied table not far from the bar. "C'mon, I've got a job for us."

"Really?" That definitely caught Drake's interest, not that Harry really had any trouble getting it. He settles into the seat across from him and grins as he takes a sip of his beer. Just when his little vacation starts to get a bit boring, in comes Flynn.

"A client is willing to part ways with a huge sum of cash if we acquire a certain object for him." A cocky smirk as Harry plays confident and opens up the folder, moving it to the center of the table so that Drake could look it over with his own eyes. Harry keeps an eye out for Chloe, who's out of Drake's eyesight a bit beyond them. She'll come over when he signals no doubt. "Now..." Harry begins, holding up the brochure for the Turkish exhibit facing him first, knowing he has Drake's interest. "You're not gonna like this.." 

Almost immediately when the brochure is placed face up on the table, Drake's face pales and he shakes his head. He remembers all too well what happened last time. "Oh no..you're out of your mind..." Nathan says emphatically, pushing the brochure back towards Harry. Personally, he'd do a lot for Harry but this? This was almost too much. 

Realizing he was beginning to lose Nathan's readiness, Harry put his hand on top of the brochure and leaned in, "Now, hold on just hear me out--"

"Flynn, we both know two people who barely made it out of there alive!" After making it out of Panama by the skin of his teeth, Nathan definitely wasn't about to sign up for another adventure or heist with a heavy casualty list. Even if it was an old friend who brought it to his attention. ~~At least Sully wasn't here, that's one person he would definitely be worried about losing on a plan like this.~~

 _"And one who made it out."_ Harry's words were just as firm as his gaze, one that was near to the point of begging Nathan to just trust him. It would be safe, they knew the territory they were all getting into. Unlike last time, where they had split-seconds to get out of there, and to leave their mark behind. 

"Yeah, barely." There was a rueful tone in Nathan's voice as he took another sip of his beer, crossing his arms and slumping back in his chair. The client might not be dangerous, but this heist definitely was. Leave it to Harry to show a man a dangerous time. 

"I can't do this without you, Drake." Harry wouldn't even dare to think of pulling something this monumental off without his old friend. Drake had a certain finesse with things that he sometimes lacked. That, and the idea of if they all got out alive and with their prize? Well, to not share that elation with Nate would be a dick move. Drake's slumped posture and reaching for his beer was a sign he wasn't getting through just yet, so he continues to lay it on. "You're the only one who's cracked it, you know better than anyone it's a two person job _\--_ " 

Drake interrupts him, for a second time so far. "No no no. Three, actually." 

"Right." Harry fights the urge to smirk. Anyone who was worth their salt knew to bring a getaway driver, though when assembling a team for a heist, the driver is usually already accounted for. Chloe must have gotten bored, or interested in their raised voices, because she came sauntering up behind Drake. There was a certain look she gave over the other man that had a feeling squirming around in Harry's gut but he ignored it. "And speak of the devil, here she comes now."

"Wha-oh.." Was the first syllable or so out of Nate's mouth as Chloe came up and reached to shake his hand, introducing herself. So, they were pretending like they didn't have a history. Okay, Nate could be cool with that. They hadn't had a history and she is....attached to Flynn.

Oh, there's a sight for sore eyes. Nathan almost feels himself jump out of his seat at seeing Chloe, but the way she trailed her hand around Harry's shoulders has him sitting back down. So.....this wasn't like how they first met where they were unattached and could....do what happened then. There was no true need to be surprised that she was interested in Harry, who wouldn't be? Then again, there was some hidden feeling of..disappointment. Mixed with a heavy dose of confusion, why wouldn't she have told Harry about their prior relationship? He'll have to think about it later, if Harry was the jealous type or not. 

"Chloe here is the best driver in the business," Harry's voice continued through the brief mental fog of Nathan's mind. Even the hired thief can see there's a glimmer of recognition in Drake's eyes, they must have worked together before on a similar job. Even better. They all know what they're doing then. "She'll take good care of us." 

_Take good care of us....right, Flynn. You know how that sounds, tell me you know how that sounds. "_ I bet..." Nathan is eyeing Chloe, who is doing a damn fine job of looking like they had only worked together in the past, and not in the sense of innuendo. _God, she looks just like how he remembered._ Chloe takes a sip out of the beer she brought over and then Harry slides right up to him, so close he can smell his cologne. _Damn, he forgot how fast Harry moves sometimes._

 _"_ Now..I've got it all figured out..." There's that smooth voice that comes out when Harry plans these things. A blueprint map of the museum is taken out of the black folder and placed next to the brochure. No resort staff is around to look over their shoulders, thus no need to worry about being surreptitious. "We go in through the sewer," Not something Harry is fond of doing, but if they have to, it's always a safe bet. He catches Drake wincing and a mutter of "Loving it so far" before he continues. "That puts us in the courtyard, from there we scale up the wall, run across some rooftops and then just drop into the exhibit hall, and bob's your uncle!" As soon as he finished that energetic ramble, he went to sit back down, grinning hopefully. They had it all planned out, all Drake has to do is jump on board. 

"And what, is worth all this trouble, I hear you ask?" Now came the _pièce de résistance_ , and he flips over the page of the brochure showing the exhibit hall. In red felt marker he had circled the item they were coming for. The item that was a showcase of the exhibit. Marco Polo's Jade Oil Lamp. 

"I didn't but go ahead." Drake has a teasing, long-suffering grin on his face. Clearly, Harry is enjoying himself, he's nearly bouncing with excitement about a thing that was likely to get them all killed. Or worse. Drake blinks a few times at the circled picture, then looked up at both Chloe and Harry. Why go to all this trouble for an antique lamp? That may or may not have been owned by Marco Polo? "What? That's it? Just for an oil lamp?" 

Harry has another picture, a close up detailed version of the one in the brochure. When Drake voices his stupefied complaint he holds it up and then slides it over. "Yup. Just that."

Drake laughs and shakes his head. Who the hell was this guy putting Harry's life on the line for this? All their lives for that matter? "What? It's worthless," He exclaims with a laugh, "I don't get it."

Chloe took up the reigns of convincing Drake now, as Harry watched for a bit. "Neither do we, that's why we came looking for you."

"Well, it sounds like you're working for a nutcase." Drake replied, which took the words right out of Harry's mouth. For weeks, he's been wondering the same damn thing. "Some collector who's got too much time - and money - on his hands, and by the way this," Drake held up the picture that was just put down, "isn't worth any of it."

Harry is leaning back against his seat and had a couple long sips of his beer as he watched, a playful grin on his face as he methodically drummed his fingers along the side of his beer. "But there's more," Said as he straightens up and rustles the papers around in the folder before getting out a very high-resolution photocopy of a weathered, ancient journal entry and hands it to Drake. "How's your 13th Century Latin, mate?" 

That made Drake tense up in turn and after reading a few lines, he was nearly in shock. This alone was by no means an easy find. "Where'd you get this?"

"Borrowed it. From the files of the, ah, nutcase." It was easier to brush him off as just a nutcase rather than saying the name aloud. Chloe laughed along with the name, so it was probably for the best. Then again, even Nathan Drake could be out of touch every now and then.

Nathan's attention was now on this journal entry, Marco Polo was an old favourite of his. They read If Harry's client had managed to purchase this, god knew what else he had in his collection. Harry and Chloe had faded into the background as he worked on mentally translating the ancient document before his eyes, and there was a small part of him that couldn't believe he was actually holding this parchment in his own hands. It told the tale of Marco Polo and his team of explorers fleeing with a mystical cargo, desperate to keep it for themselves. After saying this to Harry and Chloe, still a bit shaken by excitement of it, Chloe responded with "Yes, we were able to figure that out ourselves." 

"Unfortunately, the rest of it is nonsense." Harry was adept at Latin himself, but it was nowhere near as skilled as Drake's. Part of why it was a definite upside to bring him along. Not to mention, when he managed to translate it himself, it just seemed like purple prose about the treasure they had recovered.

"Hey, hold on...." Drake responded before continuing to read the letter aloud to all three of them. _This was an utterly unreal find_ , cementing a possible location for the legendary Lost Fleet. Nate personally felt the urge itch at him to just take his phone out and take a picture of it, for his own records. 

"See what I mean? It's utter gibberish." Harry went on to say, shortly before Chloe interrupted him with a laugh and putting down her beer. "He's talking about the Lost Fleet." That made an actual look of understanding crossing the Brit's face and he nodded. He didn't keep up with Marco Polo as much as Drake did, and couldn't recall offhand when he would have heard about this fleet. 

"Hello, someone wanna fill me in?" It was a small thorn in his side, feeling inadequate over his own lack of knowledge about this. Drake laughed at his eagerness, and even though it was from a beloved friend, Harry fought the urge to pout. 

Unsurprisingly, it was Drake who decided to fill him in. :"Marco Polo leaves China with 600 passengers and 14 ships loaded down with treasure from Kublai Khan. He lands in Persia a year and a half later with one ship left and only 18 passengers. Now, he recorded every detail of his journey," Drake paused a bit to gesture at the journal entry in between himself and Harry. No doubt that's what this passage was from, "but he never told what happened to all those ships. And the passengers."

In the brief seconds, Harry was beginning to finally slide the pieces into place. Was this really what Lazarević sent him to find? He remembers the man telling him to only get the lamp, and the money was obviously for that...

"So...So somewhere out there are 13 ships loaded with the Emperor's treasure, just waiting to be found?" Chloe's excitement was growing and it made Harry smile through a bit of his rising anxiety. 

"Yeah. And that, is what your client is after." Drake was on a roll, his mind already looking across the documents on the table. Looking for clues, patterns, anything that would give a verifiable link to where these legendary ships lay. _The lamp!_ He grabbed the polaroid and showed it to Harry. "This lamp! It's covered in Mongolian script, it must have been a gift from Kublai Khan." Nathan wasn't much of a linguist but he could identify Mongolian script when he saw it. 

Another mental gear turned and Harry remembered what Nathan read aloud to them earlier. "The light of the Great Khan shelters the fate of the thirteen..." Chloe and him said in unison and sharing a look of astonishment. 

Following that to it's (somewhat) logical end, Drake continued, "Marco Polo hid something inside this lamp, something that pinpoints the site of the Lost Fleet." If it still existed, if they managed to find it, it would be a groundbreaking discovery. Though, given their collective backgrounds, not the kind of thing that would make it into a reputable paper or anything. Either way, it would be easier not having to worry about this client of Harry's.

"We're dicking this guy over, right?" Chloe asked with her nearly-trademarked mischievous grin. Harry tried not to gape at her for suggesting it, but he knew to bottle that momentary expression of surprise. It actually could be fun, and nothing like running from a criminal thug to get your blood racing on an adventure. 

Nathan and Harry said their affirmations in nearly the same breath, right before Harry stood up, about to take his last swig of beer. "You in then?" Always best to check before jumping into something like this. 

"What the hell?" Drake replied, standing up with his friends, a warm smirk coming onto his face. Maybe things would go better than his most recent visit to Panama. "What could possibly go wrong?"


	4. Maybe A Small One Won't Hurt

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Lead up to the museum heist!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This took way longer than it should have, but I hope you all enjoy it!

Harry spends most of the time lounging at the pool, and trying to relax a bit. It gets him to take his mind off the job, and he had enough to enjoy a couple beers by the pool, letting his mind idly wander. There was an old weathered paperback book by his chair near the edge of the pool, a clear sign that he had been reading it only moments before. Yet, the words on the page began too hard to focus on, it got lost in the mental swirl of anxiety regarding this upcoming job. 

He should be excited, but he wasn’t.

Maybe later on tonight, he should pay Drake a visit. It’d been a while since the two of them hung out together, and the thought of being close to him again made him smile before he dove back under the water and continued swimming. At least the water was a good distraction. 

When he came up out of the water, there were a pair of bare feet above him on the floor around the pool. There were a couple others around, just doing their own thing and enjoying the warm weather. “Thought I’d find you here, Harry.” Nathan said with a grin, before he moved to jump a little into the pool, splash Harry who let out a noise of surprise as he tried to avoid it, and then laughed.

“Oh? Should I be excited or worried?” Harry grinned, repeating his words from the other day. Drake’s resultant eye-roll showed that he was barely amused by the mimicry. 

“That’s up to you, _mate_ , I just came here to have some fun.” Nathan replied, with a phony British accent that made Harry cringe but he enjoyed the lighthearted attempt. 

The idea of what kind of fun Nate was interested in got Harry’s attention, and he briefly let his gaze wander over Nate’s bare chest. There were a couple new scars, likely from a recent treasure hunt, but it was still a pleasant sight as ever. “Fun when it comes to you, has many meanings.” 

Drake just grinned as he waded over to where he was, apparently oblivious to the brief mix of hope and panic that was rising in the back of Harry's mind. "Bet a smart guy like you has an idea or two. Or should I buy you a drink first?" The airy laugh he gave afterwards made Harry snort and he lightly shoved him back in the water. 

"You're impossible, Drake." Harry tells him, laughing even more as his friend nearly ends up under the water, and the yelp that came from that light shove. 

"Oh, you're in for it now, Flynn!" Drake yells before straightening up and moving to dive at him, arms going around his waist to push him under the water. Harry was unable to evade the tackle, and gave a sharp laugh before breathing in before being pushed under the water. His legs kicked out at Nathan, trying to desperately tug them back from the hold that Nate had around one of them. It takes a few minutes but he manages to get free and swims to the surface, gasping for air. Nate followed, a second later. 

"Cheap shot, mate, cheap shot..." Harry gasped out, his throat burning a bit but eventually he laughs and brushes wet hair out of his eyes. When he finally caught his breath and looked around, Nate was leaning against the lip of the pool right beside him and grinning widely, making Harry scoff. "What's that grin for, Drake?" 

Surprisingly, Nathan brought a hand up to brush some of Harry's hair back, a small movement that instantly brought a blush right to his cheeks. "You sound nice, breathless like that, Harry." 

To get a stronger hold of himself, Harry scoffed and shook his head, which unfortunately made more hair fall over his forehead. There was no real way that Drake was interested, was he? Drake hadn't given him any real strong signals before, though maybe it couldn't hurt to humor the possibility. After all, it was a constant little daydream in Harry's mind. Of what those lips tasted like, of feeling those hands on his hips. "You're ridiculous, Nate."

"Maybe....if finding you hot makes me ridiculous, then I'm not complaining."

Harry could practically hear crickets in the background from how silent he went at that. Subtly, one of his own hands went to his side to pinch himself a couple times. _Shit, this was definitely happening._ All his previous thoughts had disappeared completely, he could only stare at Nathan, with a mix of awe and shock on his face. It was rare that those two emotions clashed so perfectly on the Brit's face.....but this was like walking into a dream."Guess we're both ridiculous then, cause you're the hottest thing I've seen in ages."  
  
The sun had begun to set during their little play-fight, and most of the other hotel guests were starting to leave. The pool was open all night, so the bartender would stay, but they would have privacy for as long as they stayed. The quiet around them had Harry relaxing enough, and as he did, Nathan moved to pin him into the wall of the pool, smirking deviously. It was clear what the other was planning, but all Harry did was to cock a brow, silently daring him to make the move he was planning on.  
  
Then it finally happened, Nate moved in and their lips met. Harry's knees shook a little, and he was glad for the position. Pushing back against the urge to overthink the situation, he wrapped an arm around Nathan's waist and kissed him back.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

_It’s the early hours of the morning a few days later when Harry gets a call on his phone. No caller-ID. Going off the impulse that it was his client, he answered the phone._

_“Tell me the team you have picked for the job, Flynn.” Lazarević's rough accent poured through the other side of the call. Harry looked around the hotel room to make sure he was alone, and he spotted Chloe's sleeping form in the bed next to his. She was a deep sleeper, not likely to be roused by a call like this._

_“Need a three person crew for the job, got some of the best in the business.” Harry has to imagine that Lazarević didn’t know much of the treasure hunting game, so he might not have heard of who was considered “the best in the business”._

_"I want names, Flynn, not testimonials.” Lazarević sounded annoyed. If Harry vouched for them or not, he didn’t care. What he cared about was that he got what he paid for._

_“Chloe Frazer and Nathan Drake.” At the time, Harry had no idea if Lazarević even knew who Drake was. Harry’s own feelings about Drake aside, the man wasn’t exactly well known._

_When the line went silent, for so long that Harry was beginning to think that the call had dropped. He pulled it away from his cheek to check, and it hadn’t. “Drake…” Lazarević sounded_ _thoughtful, but there was a hint of something foreboding in his tone. “I do not want this Drake involved.”_

_That shot Harry’s heart back up into his throat and he heard himself stumbling before catching his breath. “Look, I can handle Drake, nothing’s going to go wrong.” Given what happened the other day, the thought of betraying him twisted a knife inside his gut. It was a bit clearer now that Lazarević had some idea who Nathan was, but Harry wasn't about to ask._

_It wasn’t the best defense, but it was more or less the truth. Besides, what true harm would come of this? “No. I will handle Drake, after the heist. Just make sure you get the lamp, Flynn.”_

_The call ended, and it took Harry nearly an hour to catch his breath._


End file.
